Educational game apparatus



Dec. 5, 1939. w. SPIRO EDUCATIONAL GAME APPARATUS Filed April 29, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [Ill/III);

Haifa? 5 0470 Dec. 5, 1939.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 5, 1939. w. SPIRO 2,181,925

EDUCATIONAL GAME APPARATUS Filed April 29, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT O-FF lCE 2,181,925 EDUCATIONAL GAME APPARATUS Walter Spiro,- White-Plains, N. Y.

Application April 29, 1938, Serial No. 205,141

Claims.

This invention is directed to an improved educational game apparatus designed more particu larly for the playing of contract and wherein the associated instrumentalities are arranged to per- 5 mit the player to have an option as to his play on any particular trick, with means at his commandtc. determine whether the card selected under his option is the card which would properly be played according to the determination of the experts play of the cards in the light of their distribution in the hands.

The primary object of: the present invention is to providefor the player, who is seeking instruction in the game, a card lay-out in the usual four hands employed in the game; with therespective successively played cards selected for" play according to the expert determination as to. that play, while at the same time-allowing the player, who is always assumed tobethe declarer, to have the option of selecting from his hand and from his partners (dummys) hand, the card or cards which he thinks are the proper cards for playin any particular trick, together with means Whereby'the player, either preceding or following his optional selection, may learn the proper card to be played in the particular instance according to the expert determination, which proper card, of course, willbe the card actually selected for play in the progress of the game. The. option thus afforded theplayer and the means for correcting that option enables the player to study out the reason for the experts play and thus-advance his knowledge of the game by comparison with the. experts play and his own optional selection.

A- further object of the invention is thepro vision of a'game apparatus of this type in which;

for convenience, South is always the declarer and Northalways the dummy hand and in which the and West, are concealed and arbitrarily played in successive order as determined by the expert in the particular card lay-out, whereby the optional play is confined to the hand of the declarer and the hand of his partner (dummy) so that any one trick is initially made up of a card led from one hand, either the expert determined card from the hand of East or West or the optionally selected card from the hand of South or North, together with means whereby the player may determine, either in advance of the play of his optionally selected cards from his own and dummys hands or following that play, Whether.

the cards played as the result of the optional selection are or are not the proper cards according to the expert determination.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means to be manually operated by the player to selectively and successively expose the proper cards making up each trick according to 1 cards of the hands of. the remaining pair, Eastthe expert'determination, whereby, after having completed a trick with the use of the optionally selectedcards, the player may operate the trick defining element and so expose to view the proper cards which, according to expert determination, should make up that trick. Thus, if, on the exposure of: the trick defining cards, the player sees that one or the other or both of his optionally selected cards are incorrect, according to the expert, such cards are, in accordane with the instrumentalities provided, theoretically Withdrawn from play, returned to the hands from which they were played, and the proper cards making up that trick indicated as having been played. This trick-indicating means, while preferably operated after the trick has been played, may nevertheless be operated before the player indicates the play ofa card from his own or from dummys hand-according to his optional selection, so that before the optionally selected card is indicated as played upon the particular trick, the player may learn from the trick-indicating means the proper card to be played according to the expert determination.

A further object of the invention is the provision of sheets bearing card indicia, trick indicia and other information necessary to the players in playing the game, with the game board formed to expose at willthe particular indiciaon the sheet, necessary for the particular play or plays,.itbeingunderstoodthat the indicated play or plays on the sheet'follow the line of play determined by thevexpert according to the. card distribution in the particular lay-out. As any number of sheets may be employed with difierent card lay-outs, an endless variety of plays Will be presented to the player by the use. of successive sheets inorder to instruct him, in such various card associations, what play or plays'the expert determines as the best. Ihus, the-player gradually appreciates thereasons and purposes of expert determined plays and thus gradually in creases his knowledge and own expertness in the playing of the game. Of course, the sheets may be printed with variousinformation concerned withthereasons and purposes of the-various playswhich the player may from time tov time consult to increase hisknowledge of the game.

A. further object of the invention is the provision of'means, preferably associated with the trick determining means, for in-dicating'the successive bids of the hands until the final bid or declarationis reached. As during the bidding the card indicia indicating the hands of. North,

West and East are concealedand the. card indieia indicating the hand of South exposed,

Southhas the option of bidding according to his own judgment in his turn and then, by moving thebld indicator, learn whetheror not his judgment was correct and What theiexpert would have card and the 16-card indicating indicia for each of the regular hands.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of the improved game apparatus, the game sheet being shown in position.

Figure 2 is a transverse central section through the same.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a game sheet designed for the playing of the conventional game of contract bridge.

Figure 4 is a plan View of a game board identical with the game board of-Figure 1 with the additional parts adapting the game board for the playing of the new 65-card game of contract bridge, the sheet being omitted and the kitty and discard cards which would appear on the sheet being indicated by printing.

While the game apparatus of the' present invention is designed for, and capable of, permitting a player to play the game of contract with certain options of play to test his own judgment and expertness, it is nevertheless'to be understood that the final play of cards of each trick is that which, according to the particular card lay-out, is determined to be the proper card according to the expert determination. Thus, the improved game apparatus is primarily instructive in that it permits the player to first exercise his own judgment and then determine the correctness or incorrectness of that judgment by a knowledge of what the expert would have done in order that he may study the variation in play according to his judgment and that of the expert, if such exists, and thus improve his knowledge of the playing of the game. Therefore, the game apparatus is primarily and essentially instructive, enabling even the beginner to gain a definite and continuously advanced knowledge of the game while at the same time permitting the pleasure of the actual playing of the game. 1

The improved game board apparatus includes a base I on which there is designed to be placed any one of a number of sheets 2 which are properly positioned with respect to the base and to the game board proper by pins 3 rising from the base and fitting through holes in the sheet and in the game board proper.

It is, of course, to be understood that, as shown in Figure 3, a sheet is printed on its opposing surfaces with characteristic indicia which are visible through the game board proper and by means of which the playing of the game and the instruction as to the proper method of play are afforded. Of course, each sheet is designed to have a different layout on each surface, either of which may be brought into playing position, and there are intended to be a number of sheets representing a large variety of different hands, so that the player may have the benefit of playing hands containing different card groupings and therefore involving different bidding and different plays.

In contract, there is the conventional game played with the ordinary deck of '52 cards which,

up to a recent period, constituted the only game of this character. Recently, however, there has been developed a somewhat different game of contract involving an additional suit of 13 cards,

known as the royal suit, and'thus providing a deck of 65 cards. The game apparatus of the present invention readily lends itself to the playing of either type of game and will first be described in connection with the more conventional game involving the use of a deck of 52 cards.

The sheet, indicated at 2, has printed thereon card indicia, indicated at 4, divided into four hands of 13 cards each. This card indicia is conveniently arranged on the sheet to present four playing hands, the North and South hands being oppositely disposed, indicating the ordinary positions of the'players of the North and South hands, and the East and West'hands are arranged opposite each other in their appropriate playing positions.

' Centrally of the sheet 2 there is printed there-- on a series of groups of cards, the centers of which follow a circular plane, and each card' the cards making up the second trick, and so on I throughout the number of circles of which there are, in the instance being described, thirteen.

Oifset from the circular outline in which the trick-indicating card indicia markings are grouped, the sheet is formed with an arcuate area 6 in which, in succession, are printed the bid indications of the successive hands disclosed on the sheet, the bid indications being continued successively until the declaration has been reached. Also on the sheet there is provided a concentric series of markings i, one opposite each trickeindicating card grouping 5 and each indicating the winner of the trick opposite which it is placed, each indication showing the summationv of the trick including its own and those preceding it, so that the final area 7 indicates the winners of all the tricks making up the complete hand. A further area on the sheet, indi- 'cated' at 8, is marked to indicate the declarers bid, the partners forming the bidding group, and the score according to the final indication of the trick numbers in the area 1.

It'will, of course, be understood that the sheet may also be printed with data carrying comments of the experts as to why a particular card is led or played and any other information which may be of value to assist in instructing the playerto obtain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the game, but as this data is particular. and peculiar to each lay-out of cards on each sheet, it is unnecessary to illustrate it in connection with any one particular sheet, and it is to be understood that so far as the present invention is concerned, this printed information may be supplied or omitted at the will of the manufacturer.

The game board proper comprises an appropriate sheet of material, indicated at it, preferably formed with openings to fit over the pins 3 and carrying hooks E9 to engage the studs to prevent casual separation of the parts and mainis formed inappropriate positions with slots registering with the card indicia don the sheet? for each hand, so that as far as the slot 2 concerned; the cards or card indicia of hand are Visible through the slots,

Extending longitudinally of and imnieo adjacent the similar ends of the slots it to 1 handisa ro'd. it; rotatably. supported bear Hi secured to the board'and having a crankterminal l5 beyond one bearing for convenience in turning the rod. On each rod there is ar-- ranged a series of shutters l5 whichare mounted for independent swinging movement on the rod, with each. shutter arranged to cooperate with a slot l2. The free ends of the shutters have outwardly turned lips ll for convenience in manually operating the shutters and it is apparent from the above that any one shutter may be turned to cover the slot 52. and so conceal the indicia 3. exposed through that slot, as indicated.

in full lines in Figure 2, or moved on the rod 53 to a position to expose the slot ill and thereby the card indicia l exposed through that slot, as indicated in dotted lines .inFigure 2.

For the purpose of the instruction and pl ing of the game and for convenience in description, the South hand will be assumed to be the declarer to which the North hand becomes the dummy, that is, the hand exposed during The East and West hands are presumed to be beyond the control of the player of the South hand and the cardsof the East and West hands are arranged in a sequence which will indicate their proper order of play according to the determination. For this purpose, the shutters of the East andWest hands may be marked with numbers in succession, in the instance being described from 1 to 13, indicating the order which these cards are played onthc successive tricks.

As will later appear from av description of the playing or the game, it is necessary to expose all Souths cards for the determination by South of his optional bid and play and, after the first lead, to expose all efNortl is cards as required in the game, For this purposetherc is fixed to the rod iiiv carrying theshutters of the South and North hands, a lifting bar 58 which is secured at its. terminals to the rod i3 beyond the first and last shutters and offset intermediate its ends fromthe rod 53, so. that the main length of the bar It; underlies the shutters when the latter are imposition to close the slots i2. Therefore, on movement of the crank end 55 and the swinging of the rod it, the bar it will simultaneously raise all shutters in either the North or South hand and expose all card indicia of those hands. Of course, the exposure operation is independent for each hand. With respect to the East and West hands, the bar it is offset from the rod it in the opposite direction from that in the North and South hands and underlies the shutters 56 of the East-and West hands when the latter are in open position or in position to expose the card indicia of these hands.

Thus, the shutters oi the North and South hands may be opened simultaneously and closed independently, though obviously c pable of being opened independently, if desired; while the shutters of the East and West hands are opened independently and closed simultaneously though capable, of course, of being closed independently.

The game board proper iii is formed with a series of openings it which, so fartasithe game board is concerned, register with and expose the trick-indicating cards marked at 5 onthe sheet 2. A further series of openings 2d are formed'in the game board to register with the area i. on the sheet 2 and the game board is formed with a slot 2! through which the bidding area 6 is exposed.

A circular element-.22 of a thickness approaching that of the game board is mounted through the medium of a rivet for rotation on the game board. This circular element, hereinafter termed the cam member, is formed with an opening 23 which, on rotation of the cam member, will successively register with and display the trickindicating areas 52, the cam'member having a indicia 5 may be exposed to the view of the. player" at any one time; that is, the cards of only one trick may be made visible. The openings it in the game board proper it may be, if desired, numbered to indicate successive tricks and the cam member 22 may have a pointer to register with these numbers.

The opening 25 of the cam member is adjacent its peripheral edge and designed to overlie and conceal the bidding indicia 6 on the sheet 2 when the cam member is in position well in advance of the exposure of any of the first of the trick-defining indicia 5. Thus, by moving the cam membe the bids of the bidding indicia it may be successively exposed until the point of final declaration.

is reached, and until after this declaration has been reached, the cam mem' er is not in position to expose the first trick-defining indicia 5.

As previously stated, the card. indicia and bidding indicia are arranged. to always have the South hand the declarer, though any handmay be the dealer, but at the start'of the game South manipulates the crank l5 and exposes all card indicia of his hand. He then optionally makes a bid and having bid, moves the cam member to see whether the bid defined by the expert is the bid he himself has determined as the proper bid. If not, of course the bid of the expert stands. The cam member is continually moved in succession to determine the expert bids of the remaining hands,

all such remaining hands, of course, having lead, the crank i5 controlling the shutters of.

Norths hand is operated, moving all the shutters simultaneously to expose all the card indicia of Norths hand, which hand not becomes the dummy during the subsequent playing of hand. After Wests lead, the South hand has the option of selecting the proper card to be played by North or the dummy'hand, being controlled only by the rules of the game in compelling him.

to follow suit of West's lead or, lacking suit, play any other card at his option. I

Following Norths play, the shutter marked l of Easts hand is manually moved to expose the card indicia of the slot covered by that shutter which indicates the card played by East. South then has the option of selecting the card to be played from his hand as the final cardof the trick, being again controlled, of course, by the suit of the lead, if he has such suit. The trick is now complete and the cards which the player (South) has played according to his own judgment from Norths and Souths hands are concealed by manually moving the shutter covering the card indicia of such selected cards to cover the slot l2 previously exposing such indicia.

It will be remembered that the cards played from Souths and Norths hands have been selected according to the judgment of the player and when the trick is completed, the cam member 22 is moved to expose the trick-defining indicia 5 of the first trick. Of course, this trickdefining indicia shows the four cards which should make up the trick according to expert determination and as the expert has determined in advance the play of the proper cards by East and West, these cards in the trick-defining indicia 5 f the first trick will be correct. It may also be true that the cards optionally selected by South for the South and North hands, or either of such cards, may also be correct according to the expert determination, but if it is found that South, in the exercise of his judgment alone, has selected and played a wrong card, this will be obvious from the card or cards of the trick-defining indicia of the first trick and immediate correction is made by again opening the shutters of the played cards of the North and South hands, or either of them that may be incorrect, and closing the shutter of the correct card indicia. Thus, South is instructed either as tothe correctness of his judgment or as to the fallacy of his play and may, by appropriate instructions on the sheet, learn the reason for the correct play. The winner of the trick is given credit for the trick on the indicator '1, and the play proceeds in this manner. 5 1

South, the player, always'has the option of selecting the card to be played from both his own hand and dummys hand and then, after the trick is complete, by moving the cam member to expose the indicia of the cards of that trick, learns of the correct cards which should have been played from the South and North hands and thus confirms his judgment or learns of his error, makes correction in the respective hands of the proper card according to the trick-defining indicia for each and every trick.

Of course, it is to be understood that an important feature of the present invention resides in the fact that South may, if he desires, learn of the proper card to play from his own hand and the dummy hand prior to the initial play. Thus, for example, after Wests lead, which of course is a predetermined card lead, South, desiring to know just what card the expert would play in response to Wests lead from dummys hand, moves the cam member to expose the trick-defining indicia of the first trick. This, of course, advises South in advance as to the proper cards to be played from Norths or dummys hand as well as his own or Souths hand, and the cards are played accordingly. This is an extremely valuable adjunct to the beginner who thereby gradually acquires the card sense necessary for him to create an optional judgment in himself as to the card to l be played.

Furthermore, it provides within the control of South himself a means by which at any time during the playing of the game and for any trick played, where South finds that his judgment, optionally considered, is wanting in a particular play, he may consult the trick-defining indicia 5 of that trick for the particular play..

As the trick-defining indicia of the trick being played is the only trick-defining indicia exposed at any one time and all preceding trick-defining.

indicia and all succeeding trick-defining indicia are completely concealed, South may exercise his option of consulting the trick-defining indicia of any one trick before selecting his cards and optionally, select his card for the remaining tricks without consulting the trick-defining indicia of those tricks. This adds materially to the advantage of the game to the beginner as well as to the more experienced player because South, as he gradually gains experience in the playing of the game, will desire more and more to exercise his optional judgment and yet, where his judgment indicates the possible play of either one of two cards and his experience is insufficient make a mental selection of the card according to his judgment, without indicating its play, by operating the shutter and then consult the trickdefining indicia of that trick for'the certain indication of the card to be played;

As previously stated, the game board readily lends itself to the playing of the newer game of contract involving the use of 65 cards which are divided into four hands of 16 cards each, with described are, of course, duplicated in the board designed for the playing of the 65-card game, with additions to accommodate the playing of the new game;

Thus, the game board for the new game will carry card slots 34 for each of the card indicia and corresponding to the slots l2 of the form previously described. Shutters 35am provided for the respective'slots 34, as in the previous form, and the operating means for the slots including rods 36 on which the shutters are mounted, cranks 31, and operating bars 38 are in correspondence with the similar parts previously described, both in their mounting and in their operation. board discloses the trick-defining indicia, indicated at 39, as in the first described form, controlled by a canrmember 22, and the bid-defining ofiset 42, as in the preferred form.

In the adaptation of thegame apparatusdesigned for the playing of the 65-card game of contract, there are provided in each hand sixteen slots 34 instead of thirteen, as in the 52- card game of contract, there being, of course, a correspondingnumber of shutters, and the central trick-defining indicia is arranged for the 7 playing of sixteen tricks rather than thirteen, as

is identical with the cam member 22 described The central portion of the game to tell him which is the propercard to play 7 according to the expert determination, he may,

:cam'member for. the game board for the -card game is as originally described and the same reference numerals of the original description are applied.

In the 65-card game'of contract, there is of course an extra'card after the four l6-card hands have been distributed. This extra card is'known as the .Fkitty and-is printed on the sheet-at 53 and permanently disposed through an opening Min the game board and cam member.

In the playing of this game, after the bidding has been completed and the declarer indicated, the declarer (who is always assumed to be South in the description of the present invention) has the option -,of placing the kitty in his hand or in his partners or the dummy hand, accord ing to his'ownjudgment. Of course, in the playing of the present game, the expert will determine into which hand the kitty is to be placed,

and if, theoretically, it has been placed in dummys hand, then dummy will be assumed to have discarded one of his original cards. If the card has been placed by theexpert in Souths hand, South willbe assumed-to have discarded one of his original cards.

This discarded card, according to the formation and play of cards on a particular sheet, is indicated through the opening M in the game board. the expert, has determined that the kitty is to be, placed in dummys hand, then it will be found to be among the card indicia in that hand when the shutters of that hand are raised. If, on the contrary, the kitty is tobe placed in declarers-or Souths hand, it will be printed on the sheet to appear through an additionalor seventeenth slot 4'5 in line with the slots at of Souths hand and normally covered by a shutter ifi'which is beyondthe operative influence of the bar 3% of Souths hand and can only be manipulated manually. I

' It is preferred that the opening 4 be arranged in the game board and controlled by a slot 35 in'the cam member 22. so that when. the cam member is in normal or initial position, the card marking kitty is exposed and remains exposed until the initial move of the cam member to disclose the first trick-indicating data at 5, for at this time'therkitty is supposed to have been placed in'on'e of the other hands of the partners including the declarer. As the slot M covers the card marking the kitty in the initial movement of the cam member, such slot then discloses the discard from the hand in which the kitty has been placed, which discard remains visible to the players during the full remaining movement of the cam member.

The game is playedaccording to general principles exactly as described in connection with the 52-card game of contract previously referred to, except that the kitty is always exposed through the opening t l, the shutter d5 of the discard is closed to conceal that discard, and the shutter 48 of Souths hand is closed to cover the slot 4'? during the bidding. After the bidding is completed, South determines whether the kitty shall be placed in his own hand or in his partners (dummys) hand. Having determined, for ex ample, that the card is to be placed in his own hand, he raises the shutter it. If the place on the sheet within the outline of the slot 4'! is blank, the player knows'that his judgment as to the application of. the kitty is wrong and that the kitty should, according to expert determination, have been placed in the North or dummy hand.

Preceding the initial lead by West, the cam member 22 is moved to display the indicia of the discard, that is the card which is removed from either Souths or Norths hand to permit the use of the kitty in that hand. All players then know what card has been discarded and as soon as West has made the initial lead and dummys cards are fully exposed, all players know in which hand the ty is placed or whether is has been placed in either hand. Of course, if the expert determines that the kitty is not to be used, neither the South nor North hand will contain it, and when the cam member 22 is moved to display the discard, as whenthe kitty is used, there will be no display of the discard because the kitty has. not been used in either Souths or Norths hand and, of course, there has been no discard.

In the playing of the game, South, the declarer and player, has all the options described in connection with'the playing of the first form and can'determine the correctness or fallacy of his optional judgment in play by consulting the trick-defining indicia 39 for the particular trick which has been completed or which is to be completed. Here again, South has the option of playing the trick so far as cards from his own hand and his partners hand are concerned and then operating the cam member 22 to learn the correctness of his play or, if his play is in error, to then correct his play by appropriate operation of the shutters of his own and the dummy hand exactly in accordance with the previous description.

The important characteristic of the game board and apparatus is the provision of means whereby the cards making up any particular trick, and properly played according to the expert determination, are available to the player of the game either before he exercises his'judgment as to play or after :he exercises his judgment as to play and the trick is complete. The option afforded the player (South) is of material benefit to the player seeking instruction in the game.

He can first select any card, of course controlled by the suit lead, from his own or dummys hand to be played on any trick and after the trick is completed, may'consult the tri k-defining indicia to learn whether his judgment was correct or where, if in error, such error existed. He may then correct, the play, as above described, and proceed with the playing of the next trick. This permits the player to play optionally from his own or dummys hand and then acquire positive expert knowledge of the proper play after he has completed his optional plays, or offers the additional and important advantage of allowing the player for any one .or any number of tricks to consult the expert play through the medium of the trick defining indicia for that trick before he (South) has made any optional selection.

Thus, by first exposing the trick-defining indicia, all tricks throughout any one game, any one trick, or any number of tricks may be originally played according to the determination of the expert. This will give to the declarer or player a definite knowledge of how the expert would play the particular cards and if this is repeated for a number of different games, that is through the use of different sheets, the player will gradually acquire the principle on which the expert proceeds and having gained this knowledge, at least to some appreciable extent, may, in the playing of the next game, apply these principles by exercising his own judgment and playing the cards from his own and the dummy hand according to his own selection before exposing the trick-defining indicia to determine whether or not his judgment Was proper according to the determination of the expert. In other words, the beginner or less experienced player may play any number of games, following exactly the experts determination as to play, merely by exposing the trick-defining indicia before the cards of the trick are played and by studying with the help of any information which he may acquire from the matter on the sheets or from other sources, gradually inform himself as to why the expert played the cards indicated.

The player can at any time exercise his option and determine the correctness of it later, but the simplicity of the method by which he can play any game or series of games exactly as the expert would play them in order to study the game from this standpoint and then, without any change, adjustment or addition of parts, exercise his option as to play in any one or any number of tricks, provides the player with an unusually proficient method of acquiring experience and knowledge of the game in a comparatively short time. Thus, with proper printed instructions as to each game and playing several games strictly according to expert play, the beginner has the advantage of expert lessons and yet he may at any time seek to apply the knowledge he has gained by his optional playin any one or any series of tricks.

The various parts of the apparatus are to be constructed of a size convenient for transportation and yet suficient to permit clear reading of the card indicia, and the various materials to be employed may be any possible material which will adapt itself to the purpose for which it is employed in the game apparatus.

What is claimed to be new is:

1. A game apparatus for the playing of and instruction in the game of contract, comprising a sheet marked with card indicia arranged in playing hand formation, a seriesof independent indicia each indicating the card make-up of a trick and biidding indicia to indicate successive bids of the players, a game board, means on the game board to expose the playing card indicia making up the hands'at will, and a single element mounted for rotation on-the game board and movable to successively display the bidding indicia and in continued movementin the same direction tosuccessively display the card indicia making up the respective tricks, whereby through the operation of a single element, the successive bids may be determined and the successive tricks exposed with indications at each trick exposure of the cards from the several hands making up that trick.

2. A game apparatus for the playing of and instruction in the playing of the game of contract, comprising a sheet marked with card indicia arranged for playing hand formation, bidding indicia and card trick defining indicia, a

game board for exposing at will the playing card indicia making up the hands, and a single manually operable element mounted for rotation on the board and formed with an opening serving in the movement of the element to successively expose the bidding indicia, said'element being formed with an opening serving as the element is operated to successively expose the card trick defining'indicia of the respective tricks.

3. A game apparatus for the playing of and instruction in the playing of the game of contract, comprising a sheet marked'with card indicia arranged for playing hand formation, bidding indicia and card trick defining indicia, a game board for exposing at will the playing card indicia making up the hands, and a single manually operable element mounted for rotation on the board and formed with an opening'serving in the movement of the element to successively expose the bidding indicia, said element being formed with an opening serving as the element is operated to successively expose the card trick defining indicia of the respective tricks, the open- I ing in the element serving to expose the card w.

trick defining indicia being of such size and so related to the card trick defining indicia on the sheet as to expose the cards of asingle trick only while concealing the cards of all other tricks.

4. A construction as defined in claim 3, whereg in the sheet is marked adjacent each card trick defining indicia with the number of that trick I in the playing series and with identification of the players winning the trick, and wherein the game board is formed with a single opening to expose successively and simultaneously with the exposure of the card trick defining indicia the number and the Winner of the particular trick exposed.

5. A game apparatus for the playing of and instruction in the game of contract comprising a sheet formed with card indicia arranged in playing hand formation, bidding indicia, and a series of independent trick defining indicia, the latter including the cards making up a particular trick according to the determination of the expert, a playing board to overlie the sheet, and

a member mounted for rotation on the board in relation to the bidding indicia and trick defining indicia, said member beingformed with an elongated slot through which, in the movement of the member, the bidding indicia may be successively disclosed, said member being further formed with 'a'single opening serving in them-- tation of the member to expose the trick defining indicia in succession, the board being formed with slots through which the hand playing card may be rendered visible, shutters for normally closing the slots, means whereby all of the shut-l ters of two hands may be operated simultaneously to expose the card playing indicia, and means whereby the shutters of the remaining hands may be simultaneously operated to close the shutters to conceal the card playingindicia of such hands, the shutters of the first mentionedhands being arranged for independent closing movement and the shutters of the last mentioned hands being arranged for independent opening movement.

WALTER SPIRO. 

